High pressure ejection impeller



July 23, 1963 Filed July 10, 1962 F/GI COMPRESSOR COMPRESSOR Uflit S The invention relates generally to a jet propulsion device and more specifically to a high pressure ejection impeller.

An object of the invention is to provide a device from which jets of compressed fluid are periodically discharged in one of two opposite directions for driving a vehicle to which the device is attached in a direction opposite to the direction of the discharge.

According to the invention, fluid under pressure is continuously admitted through an admission port to a substantially closed and stationary compression chamber. A discharge port in the compression chamber opens into a stationary ejector chamber. This port is periodically opened and closed by a valve and valve operating means that are a feature of the invention. oppositely disposed ejectors open outwardly from the ejection chamber in opposite directions defining forward and reverse travel directions and means are provided for individually closing one ejector and opening the other. Thus jets of fluid can be discharged alternatively in one of the two opposite travel directions.

The foregoing objects and features, as well as various other objects and features of the invention and its principles and mode of operation will be more fully understood from the following description and the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 1 showing another embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 1 the invention comprises a compression chamber defined by side walls 12 and oppositely disposed end walls 14 and 16. The side walls 12 terminate at end wall 14 but extend beyond end Wall 16. A crank shaft 18 is journaled in bearings 20 and 22 that are respectively mounted diametrically opposed in side walls 12. An end 24 of the crank shaft 18 extends through the side wall 12 and a gear 26 is mounted thereon. A motor 28, having a driving gear 30, is mounted to drive the gear 26 and crank shaft 18 in rotation. A crank shaft rod 32 is mounted for reciprocation on the crank shaft 18 in the compression chamber 10-. The end wall 14 defines an opening 34 in which an output pipe 36 is fastened that leads from a compressor 38. The end wall 16 defines a valve seat opening 40 A piston valve 42 having a valve stem 44 and a valve head 46 is pivotally mounted on the crank shaft rod 32 for reciprocation therewith. The valve head 46 is complementary shaped and sized to fit in the valve seat opening 40, and the valve stem 44 is dimensioned in length to seat the valve head 46 in the valve seat opening 40 to close it at proximate dead center position of the crank shaft 18 and rod 32 and to withdraw the valve head from the valve seat at remote dead center position to open it. A valve stem guide 48, integral with the side walls 12 intermediate the end wall 16 and the pivoted connection of the rod 32 with the valve stem 44 at proximate dead center position, extends transversely the piston valve axis of reciprocation, and slidably engages the valve stem for guiding the piston valve in reciprocating motion.

Another end wall 50 is flush to and integral with side wall 12 and parallel to end wall '16 of the compression chamber. Inner auxiliary walls 52 parallel to side walls atet ice

12 and extending between end walls 16 and 50 define with said end walls ejector chamber 54. Diametrically opposed and coaxial valve seat openings 56 and 58 are defined in auxiliary walls 52 and holes 60 and 62 coaxial with valve seat openings 56 and 58 are defined in side walls 12.

Referring also and more particularly to FIG. 2 hollow stemmed piston valves 64 are slidably mounted respectively in sleeve ejectors 66 and the combinations are respectively secured in holes 60 and 62 with piston valve heads seating in the valve seat openings 56 and 58, and the sleeve ejectors 66 extending in opposite directions through the side walls 12'. Each of the sleeve ejectors 66 has a transversely positioned slot 68 outwardly of side walls 12 and adjacent end wall 16 and extending in depth to expose a surface portion 70 of the hollow stemmed piston valve 64. The exposed surface 70 is machined to form transverse rack teeth extending axially along the hollow valve stem the outward end of the hollow piston stem extending substantially beyond the slot 68 in the sleeve ejector 66. A bracket 72 is fixed on the side walls 12 adjacent each of the slots 68. Toothed segments 74 are pivotally mounted :on the brackets with their teeth respectively adapted to and engaging the rack teeth of the exposed surfaces 70, of the slidably mounted piston valves 64. A linkage 76 is provided. for pivoting each toothed segment 74 on its bracket 72.

In operation pressure fluid output of the compressor is led by pipe 36 into the compression chamber 18 through the opening 34. The motor 28' rotates thereby rotating the crank shaft 18 by means of the meshed gears '30 and 26. The crank shaft reciprocates the crank shaft rod 32 and the pivotally attached piston valve 42 which is guided in linear reciprocation by the valve stem guide 48. The reciprocation of the piston valve 42 is adapted to alternately seat and unseat the valve head 46 in the valve seat opening 40 thereby releasing into the ejection chamber 54 successive jets of pressure fluid. The diametrically opposite hollow stemmed piston valves 64 are slidably actuated in their respective sleeve ejectors 66 through the pivoting of their respective tooth segments 74 by linkages 76 to open one valve seat opening (56 for example) and close the other (58 for example) as illustrated in FIG. 1. The jets of pressure fluid escape from the ejection chamber 54 through the open valve seat opening and the associated hollow stemmed piston valve 64 and are discharged outwardly through the sleeve ejector 66 thereby exerting an opposite force tending to drive the device in the opposite direction to the discharge. By reversing the setting of the hollow stemmed piston valves 64 the direction of discharge and hence the driving force on the device is reversed.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. In this embodiment the motor 28 and gears 30 and 26 rotate a straight cam shaft 78 to which is fixed an eccentric cam 80 to rotate with the shaft. A piston valve 82 has a valve head 46 similar to the valve head 46 of the piston valve 42 however the valve stem 84 is different, being longer than the valve stem 44 and carrying on its free end a cam follower roller 86 adapted to engage the cam 80. A spring 88 mounted on the valve stem 84 between the valve head 46 and the valve guide 48, biases the piston valve 82 downward toward the valve seat opening 40 and the cam follower roller 86 downward into operating contact with the cam 80. Details of the piston valve and cam arrangement of FIG. 3 is shown in FIG. 4 enlarged and from a position 90 degrees around the vertical axis as shown in FIG. 3.

The operation of this embodiment differs from the first described only in the way the piston valve mounted in the compression chamber 10 is reciprocated. Reciprocation is obtained by rotating the eccentric cam 80 to drive by a cam follower roller 86 in reciprocation against the bias of a spring 88. The advantage of the cam drive is that the opening and closing of the piston valve in its seat opening can be made as fast or slow, and in any relative proportions of cycle time as desired by changing the shape of the cam.

Although the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What I claim is:

1. A jet propulsion device comprising: a fluid compressor; a stationary substantially-closed compression chamber connected to receive pressure fluid from said fluid compressor; an ejection chamber adjacent to said compression chamber, said chambers being interconnected through a common valve seat opening defined therebetween, and said ejection chamber additionally defining two diametrically opposite valve seat holes having a concentric axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the common valve seat opening; a valve mounted for reciprocation in said compression chamber between two limiting positions in said compression chamber on the longitudinal axis of said common valve seat opening, and adapted to seat therein at one of said limiting positions to close said common valve set opening, and to be lifted therefrom to open it; means for continuously reciprocating said valve between said limiting positions; two

oppositely disposed valves, having hollow stems, slidably mounted in said respective opposite seat valve holes, said valves being mounted with hollow stems extending outwardly through said holes; and means operatively connected to said opposite valves for individually sliding said valves to open and close said opposite valve seat holes, one of said holes being normally open and the other closed, wherebypressure fluid is released in a succession of jets from said compression chamber to said ejection chamber, the rate of release of said jets being dependent on the speed of reciprocation of the valve mounted in the compression chamber, and jetted through the open valve seat hole and out of the hollow stem of the associated valve in one of the two opposite directions the hollow stems are oppositely disposed in, thereby driving the device in the opposite direction.

2. A jet propulsion device as described in claim 1 wherein said reciprocating means comprises a rotating crank shaft and connecting rod mounted in the compression chamber, and pivotally connected to said compression chamber piston valve, said two limiting positions being the two dead center positions of said connecting rod.

3. A jet propulsion device as described in claim 1 wherein said reciprocating means comprise a rotating cam shaft mounted in said compression chamber, a cam mounted eccentrically on said cam shaft, a cam follower roller mounted on the end of said compression chamber valve and adapted to engage said cam, and a spring mounted on [the valve for biasing said cam-follower roller against said cam.

No references cited. 

1. A JET PROPULSION DEVICE COMPRISING: A FLUID COMPRESSOR; A STATIONARY SUBSTANTIALLY -CLOSED COMPRESSION CHAMBER CONNECTED TO RECEIVE PRESSURE FLUID FROM SAID FLUID COMPRESSOR; AN EJECTION CHAMBER ADJACENT TO SAID COMPRESSION CHAMBER, SAID CHAMBERS BEING INTERCONNECTED THROUGH A COMMON VALVE SEAT OPENING DEFINED THEREBETWEEN, AND SAID EJECTION CHAMBER ADDITIONALLY DEFINING TWO DIAMETICALLY OPPOSITE VALVE SEAT HOLES HAVING A CONCENTRIC AXIS TRANSVERSE TO LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE COMMON VALVE SET OPENING; A VALVE MOUNTED FOR RECIPROCATION IN SAID COMPRESSION CHAMBER BETWEEN TWO LIMITING POSITIONS IN SAID COMPRESSION CHAMBER ON THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID COMMON VALVE SEAT OPENING, AND ADAPTED TO SEAT THEREIN AT ONE OF SAID LIMITING POSITIONS TO CLOSE SAID COMMON VALVE SET OPENING, AND TO BE LIFTED THEREFROM TO OPEN IT; MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY RECIPROCATING SAID VALVE BETWEEN SAID LIMITING POSITIONS; TWO OPPOSITELY DISPOSED VALVES, HAVING HOLLOW STEAMS, SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID RESPECTIVE OPPOSITE SEAT VALVE HOLES, SAID VALVES BEING MOUNTED WITH HOLLOW STEAM EXTENDING OUTWARDLY THROUGH SAID HOLES; AND MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID OPPOSITE VALVES FOR INDIVIDUALLY SLIDING SAID VALVES TO OPEN AND CLOSE SAID OPPOSITE VALVE SEAT HOLES, ONE OF SAID HOLES BEING NORMALLY OPEN AND THE OTHER CLOSED, WHEREBY PRESSURE FLUID IS RELEASED IN A SUCCESSION OF JETS FROM SAID COMPRESSION CHAMBER TO SAID EJECTION CHAMBER, THE RATE OF RELEASE OF SAID JETS BEING DEPENDENT ON THE SPEED OF RECIPROCATION OF THE VALVE MOUNTED IN THE COMPRESSION CHAMBER, AND JETTED THROUGH THE OPEN VALVE SEAT HOLE AND OUT OF THE HOLLOW STEM OF THE ASSOCIATED VALVE IN ONE OF THE TWO OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS THE HOLLOW STEAMS ARE OPPOSITELY DISPOSED IN , THEREBY DRIVING THE DEVICE IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. 